Packaging of loaf-like bakery goods



May 21, 1935. v. M. BEAR I2,001,761

` PACKAGING oF LoAF LIKE BAKERY Goons.

FiledJuly 31, 1955 Patented May 2.1, 1935 PATENT orrlcE 4 2,001,761 PACKAGING F LOAF-LIKE BAKERY GOODS Velma M. Bear, Kansas City, Mo., assigner to .Schulze Baking Company, Kansas City, Mo., a

corporation of Illinois Application July 31, 1933, Serial No. 683,001

ICIaim.

These improvements relate to the packaging of loaf-like bakery goods, with special reference to cake in circular or elongated form. Its object is to provide a peculiarly advantageous package 5 for such goods, and, as an improvement over what has been known and used, is directed largely to the overcoming of certain pronounced disadvantages of the older practice.

The bakery product called cake is the loaf-like article cut into slices for table use. It is often quite delicate in its physical properties' often quite soft and yielding, with an embellishment of icing" or frosting, and one of the difhcult problems of the manufacturer is so to package the goods as to insure reasonably the maintenance of the icing and the cake body in fresh and unmutilated condition until the product reaches the home of the consumer. Because of the fragility of the product such cake has been wrapped by hand, although the harder and tougher kinds have been put through a wrapping machine, especially the elongated forms.

Fior such hand-wrapping of the fragile variety of cake it has been customary to use thin and flexible regenerated cellulosic sheet material such as the material having the trade name Cellophane" cut to the desired size oi' sheet, folding the Cellophane about the goods, and then applying a band, in the form of a strip of ordinary paper, around the wrapped article, and securing the ends of the strip together by an adhesive. Such paper bands, not being secured to the Cellophane wrapper, easily slipped off of the round orms, highly objectionable for various reasons including this that it permitted the gatherings or folds of the wrapper to open, and it is very diilicuit to replace such a paper band because of its' easy-tearing qualities. One feature of the present improvements contemplates securing the band to the wrapper so as to maintain the wrapper in its folded condition and the band properly upon the goods.

Another disadvantage of the paper band is its likelihood of being torn under ordinary conditions. For example, it is the tendency of purchasers tc lift the cake and carry it by the band, which is a desirable way to handle the product ii the bandbe able to stand the strain, to avoid crushing or indenting the loaf or smearing or fingermarking the icing. A feature of these improvements is the provision of a band that not 'only strongly reinforces the wrapper and holds the folded portions of it securely, but which serves as a strong and unrupturable carrying bail which, 'f being secured to the wrapper, enables the-cake to be carried free of the danger of its injury by falling due either to the breakage of the band or the slipping of the loaf out of the confining ring.

Such food articles are sold to a considerable extent on the appearance of the particular unit 5 being oiered at the time. It is common experience that if the wrapper and band are unsightly, and the paper bands soil easily, the commodity will `probably have to be sold at a sacriice, if saleable at all. The paper bands are practi- 10 cally ruined by moisture, although the Cellophane wrapper may fully protect the contents. Then, with the bands coming o during inspection or prior thereto, and with the folds of the wrapper coming or standing open, the effect upon l5 the customer is bad. The attempt of the shopkeeper or customer to reiold the wrapper and reapply the band is usually unsatisfactory, and the net result is disappointment, due entirely to the poor packaging of the product.

Still another bad feature of the paper band is that it does not lit the form snugly but curls up objectionably along its sides. This, together with the common paper adjacent to the shiny Cellophane, gives the appearance of cheapness and 25 make-shift quality to the package. I emphasize such features because of their 'eect upon successful commercial practice.

I overcome all of these defects and disadvantages, and others readily to be appreciated by those engaged in the marketing of cake, by providing a band of Cellophane or the like around the Cellophane wrapper, the band being preferably adhesively secured to the wrapper in the vicinity on the wrapper where gathered and folded and encompassing the gathered and folded portions of the wrapper and holding these portions in place, the band preferably carrying the trademark and'such other indicia as may be appropriete. Such a band is exceedingly strong 40 and will not be torn by any kind of handling. It serves as a carrying bail, being otherwise desirably unsecured to the wrapper, which will stand all the strain put upon it, and it will not come oi! during such use or otherwise until deliberately removed. It is preferably transparent where not printed upon, but it may be in colors. Thus the form may advantageously be seen through the band and wrapper. Being of the same kind of material` as is the wrapper, the optical effect is that of a properly-linished article-a rich appearance instead of a palpably cheap one. The Cellophane band lies closely upon the wrapper and does not curl along its side edges. The printing\ effects upon the Ceilophane band are quite dii'- are not suitable for Cellophane; but a description of such a special adhesive is not v -:w here since they are known and used generally in Cellophane work. In the next place I- apply the adhesive, certainly in the preferred mode, in such a way as to secure the band to the wrapper as well as to itself.

In the drawing Figures 1 and 3 are top views.

respectively of two forms of cake packaged according to these improvements;

Figs. 2 and 4 are bottom views ofthe articles of Figs. 1 and 3'respectiveiy; Y

Fig. 5 is a bottom view following Fig. 2 with the band lying fiat before the end portions thereof are turned over and sealed upon the-bottom; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of auch a wrapped and banded article.

The application of the thin and e`xible transparent "Cellopbane wrapper il may be according to usual practice, which means that the cake body is rested onasheet of the material and an ordinary wrapping operation performed which gathers and folds the material upon itself at opposite ends or sides of the cake body and leaves such gathered and folded material as Ii, Il on the bottom of the article. The band II of Cellophane or the like may be laid extended on thetable as in Fig. 5, and the special adhesive mate :rial applied at its ends, as at il and Il. The dotted lines in Fig-..5 show how one extending part of the band has been laid over upon the folds il and there secured to the wrapper by the adhesive il. The otherendof the band is then similarly l .laid over. partially overlapping the end portion of the band already secured to the wrapper, and the adhesive il then holds the overlapped parts of the band together. The band is thus secured to the wrapper and to itself to form a complete ring about the wrapped article, and it extends so as to pass over andencompass the gatherings or folds at the ends of the elongated loaf-like article of Figs. 3 and 4, or, if the article be circular, as in Figs. l and 2, then so aa to encompassthe' gatherings or folds at opposite sides ofthe round' form.

and overcoming numerous objections and disadvantages of what has heretofore beensuggested and used. v

I claim:

The combination with a bakery product in loaflike form having a transparent wrapper of regenerated cellulosic sheet material gathered and folcl-l ed upon itself at its bottom, of a transparent strong and flexible band of regenerated cellulosic sheetA material passing completely around the form outside the wrapper where gathered andv folded. the ends of the band being adhesively secured directly one to the other and the band. being adhesively secured to the wrapper in tineA immediate vicinity of the gathered and folded portion of the wrapper, the band being free frein adhesion to the wrapper at the sides and top of the romand being of extremely narrow width relatively to the form, wherely the band servm to. hold the folds of the wrapper in position and elsewhere on the form serves as a bail while atthe sametimetheformmaybeseen, t

d and M pper. f 

